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Founded in 2009 by two former Yahoo! Employees Jan Koum & Brian Acton, WhatsApp has grown from a small startup to the world’s most widely used instant messaging apps. The app uses internet to send text messages and various other multimedia files to other users using the standard cellular mobile numbers. The app is currently used by more than a billion people worldwide.

You and your friends might use WhatsApp every day. You might still be unaware of some cool secret features that are hidden in your app.

Here is a list of some of my favourite secret features.

Using WhatsApp on Your PC

What’s cooler than using WhatsApp on your PC? You can now do this by using the WhatsApp Web feature. You may also use this feature for transferring multimedia files between your phone and your PC. To do this, you need to open the WhatsApp Web page on your PC. At the same time, select “WhatsApp Web” on your phone through the Menu button. Login by scanning the QR code on the screen through your phone and Voila! You just logged in!

Using the Typewriter Font In WhatsApp

Want to impress your friends by writing in the classic typewriter font? Simply place the ` symbol three times on either side of the sentence or word. WhatsApp will change the text into typewriter font. iPhone users may copy this symbol since iOS keyboards doesn’t have this symbol.

Sending Same Message to Multiple People without Setting Up Group Chat

To do this, you need to use the “Broadcast Lists” feature on the WhatsApp menu. This feature lets you send the same message to several persons at once without letting them realize that it was sent to more than one person. Simply create a new broadcast list and add the contacts in it. Write your message and hit send. The replies to the messages will appear in the private chat with each individual.

Making the Text Bold and Italicizing It

To make the text bold, add the asterisks to either side of the sentence or a word, e.g. *techloonies*
Replace the asterisks with underscores to italicize the text, e.g. _techloonies_
To strikethrough your message or a word, add the tildes on either side of text, e.g. ~techloonies~
These formats can also be combined. e.g. _*techloonies*_ (bold italics)

WhatsApp Message Count

This feature only runs on the iOS devices and may give you an idea of your best WhatsApp buddy. Go to Settings > Account > Storage. You’ll see the number of interactions with your contacts here. Selecting “Size” will give you an idea of how much data have you spent on each of your contacts.

Annoying Group Chat Notifications

Let’s face it. We’ve all been victims of those annoying group chat notifications which are constantly buzzing all day long. The worst part is that you can’t even leave the group since you don’t want to break your friend’s hearts. Now, you have the option to mute the chats for eight hours, a week or a year.
Simply go into the group, tap the menu button and select “mute”. You’ll get the options to mute the chat for different time durations.

Profile Picture Privacy

It is a common misconception about WhatsApp that anyone with your contact number can see your profile picture. Here is how this can be avoided. Simply go into Settings > Account > Privacy > profile photo and select “My Contacts”. This means that only the contacts that are already available in your contacts list will be able to see your profile picture.

No Blue Ticks

This trick helps you read the messages without letting the sender see those dreaded blue ticks. Once you receive the message on WhatsApp, do not open it and ignore all the notifications. Activate the Airplane mode on your phone. This mode blocks the internet and stops any new incoming messages. Read the message on WhatsApp, close the app and deactivate the Airplane mode. The blue ticks won’t be displayed to the sender.

You may also turn off the blue ticks completely by going to the Settings > Privacy and unchecking “Read Receipts”. Too bad, you won’t be able to see the blue ticks for the outgoing messages as well.

Messaging Directly From Home-Screen

This tip is only for Android phone users. You can create shortcut icon to individual chats by tapping and holding on the chat. Once chosen, select “Add conversation shortcut” from the menu. The profile picture of the contact will appear on the home-screen.

Another shortcut lets you reply to messages without even opening WhatsApp. To enable this feature, go to Settings > Notifications > Select “Always show popup”. You’ll get the messages directly on your lock-screen and will be able to reply there as well.

Sending a Giant Heart

Send a red heart emoji without adding anything else and it will appear as a big beating heart.